The EPA has officially added the heavily contaminated Lower Hackensack River to its national list of Superfund cleanup sites.

This will pave the way for a much-needed cleaning of the sediment at the bottom of the riverbed.

This effort is less about picking up trash than removing the mercury and other chemicals that have built up over the years.

EPA officials say one local man is largely to thank for the effort: Bill Sheehan, better known as Captain Bill, the leader of Hackensack Riverkeeper.

"I keep the river for everybody, I tell that to people all the time," Sheehan said.